Srinagar, May 16: A war of words broke out on Friday between Jammu and  Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti over the former’s call to revive the Tulbul Navigation Barrage project on Wullar Lake in view of the suspension of the Indus Water Treaty (IWT).

  While Mehbooba termed Abdullah’s remarks as “irresponsible” and “dangerously provocative”, the chief minister hit back saying she refuses to acknowledge that the IWT was a “historic betrayal” with the people of J-K because of her “blind lust” to score “cheap” publicity points, and please some people across the border.

In a post on X on Thursday, Abdullah had wondered if work can resume on the Tulbul Navigation Barrage project on Wullar Lake in view of the suspension of the IWT.

“The Wular lake in North Kashmir. The civil works you see in the video is the Tulbul Navigation Barrage. It was started in the early 1980s but had to be abandoned under pressure from Pakistan citing the Indus Water Treaty.Now that the IWT has been ‘temporarily suspended’ I wonder if we will be able to resume the project,” Abdullah posted on his personal X handle.

He said the Tulbul project, if completed, can help in using Jhelum for navigation purposes.

“It will give us the advantage of allowing us to use the Jhelum for navigation. It will also improve the power generation of downstream power projects, especially in winter,” he added.

The Centre had last month put the Indus Water Treaty — under which India and Pakistan used to share water — in abeyance in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack.

However, the PDP chief Friday took a dig at the chief minister, saying his call to revive the project was “deeply unfortunate”.

“J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s call to revive the Tulbul Navigation Project amid ongoing tensions between India & Pakistan is deeply unfortunate,” Mehbooba, a former chief minister of the erstwhile state of J-K, said in a post on X.

She said such statements were not only “irresponsible” but “dangerously provocative” as well.

“At a time when both countries have just stepped back from the brink of a full-fledged war with Jammu and Kashmir bearing the brunt through the loss of innocent lives, widespread destruction and immense suffering such statements are not only irresponsible but also dangerously provocative.

“Our people deserve peace as much as anyone else in the country. Weaponising something as essential and life giving as water is not only inhumane but also risks internationalising what should remain a bilateral matter,” the PDP president said.

Following the remarks, Abdullah hit back, saying the PDP president’s refusal to acknowledge that the IWT was a “historic betrayal” with the people of J-K was due to her “blind lust” to score “cheap publicity points” and “please” some people sitting across the border.

“Actually what is unfortunate is that with your blind lust to try to score cheap publicity points & please some people sitting across the border, you refuse to acknowledge that the IWT has been one of the biggest historic betrayals of the interests of the people of J&K,” he posted on X.

The J-K CM said he has always opposed the treaty and will continue to do so.

“Opposing a blatantly unfair treaty is in no way, shape, size or form warmongering, it’s about correcting a historic injustice that denied the people of J&K the right to use our water for ourselves,” he added. (Agencies)